US Alpine Ski Team is in REAL trouble!
February 24, 2006
30 posts
16 users
3k+ views
I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but with just a few events left (only the Slalom for the men) it looks like the US Team might come away with just a SINGLE medal (a Gold in the Men's Combined). What makes this even more disappointing is the pre-Olympics prediction that the US would win 8 to 10 medals (out of 30) in Alpine skiing. Of course, Bodie's collapse hasn't helped. I'm convinced that the US Team has been under poor management and coaching since the Olympic Games in Norway. Also, racers of marginal talent are allowed to stay on the Team (for many years) simply because their parents are wealthy contributors; I believe that Sarah Schleper is a perfect example of this. If the US Alpine Ski Team is going to get it's act together, they need to get the dead wood out and always select team members based on TALENT, give the racers a bit more time off per year (only one month off for the women is too little) and hire some better coaching and management staff.
Hey look, MM has found a new topic to grouse about!
There is already a topic called "Olympic thoughts" That MM could have used for his Olympic thoughts....but he wanted EVERYONE to feel his pain!...anyway,your fun to pick on MM...takes a little pressure off me!
[rant on -again]
Its not just the Alpine 'Team' but perhaps 90% of the US Olympic 'Team'. It seems to me that there is no longer any team in 'Team'. You don't hear interviews of US athletes where the athlete talks about the team or his/her contribution to the general good of the 'team'; they are all a bunch of 'me-ists'. There also seems to be a serious lack of patriotism; some of the athletes think the whole thing is just a party or a shopping trip or a photo-op or I don't know what. I don't know whose fault it is but I think MM has some serious points.
I want our Olympic team to be serious about the sports they participate in; I want them to represent the US in an honorable, sportsmanlike manner. I am thoroughly disappointed in this year's team, not because they win or lose, but in the offhand, arrogant and boorish way they represent our country.
[/rant off]
With the beucoup dollars involved in the world of sponsorships I can sort of understand why a talented athlete would be all about self promotion. There are millions of dollars on the line and the chance of these young stars to tap into that bankroll is high. Faced with the prospect of that much money these people will cut the throat of their own grandmother for a chance at it.
I am sick of the media continuing the supposed feud between Davis and Hendrick. If these talking heads would STFU about it for two seconds, the american public could perhaps appreciate the good things the guys did instead of the negative.
As for the ski team...I don't know squat about the coaching or the troubles of the alpine team. I think Bode is an amazing athlete the same way I think Eminem is an amazing musical artist. They both have a TON of raw talent and have worked hard to reach the level they are at. I just feel sad that they don't take their moment in the spot light to encourage folks and pass on the stoke. However..it's their 15 minutes of fame, they can use it however they feel fit I suppose. Bode chose to choke in the brightest of US spot lights. Deep down inside I secretly wonder if he threw the Olympics just to continue his rebellious streak. I really hope that is not the case but I have to wonder.
Steve
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If the US Alpine Ski Team is going to get it's act together, they need to get the dead wood out and always select team members based on TALENT, give the racers a bit more time off per year (only one month off for the women is too little) and hire some better coaching and management staff.
WOW, are you way off base on this! The problem with the US Ski Team has nothing to do with the coaching and management staff. The poor performance in this years Olympics is a direct result of the global warming that has occured due to the illegal logging up on BK.
Ullr, what a pathetic JOKE you are! Rather than engage in a real discussion you reduce yourself to infantile behavior. Since you jumped to the topic of BK, let me ask you this, if the logging has been so good for BK, then why can't the owners find a buyer? According to the Altoona Mirror, BK is still up for sale. And, by the way, you might want to learn how to spell when you grow up (if that should ever happen) "occured" is spelled occurred.
Hey Roger Z, yes, I'm grousing about the US Team, but it's kind of hard not to, given it's poor Olympic performance thus far with just a few races left.
Steve, I'm also wondering what's going on in Bodie's mind. Did he decide to throw the Olympics to become even more of a rebel? Or is he just in a slump? Or perhaps he's burnt-out on ski racing.
Actually, that was my first post to you MM- well it was along those lines. You'd better be careful about throwing around "pathetic joke" too much. When everyone is laughing at you, it's kinda like the pot calling the kettle black.
But Ullr, I hear that actually the ski team was training pretty well, until they started running over all the robins that were picking worms out of the ski trails. Those robins are even redder when they splatter, and man can they leave a gouge in your boards! That snowboarding lady was actually trying to avoid an orchid that was flowering in the middle of the ski trail when she did her little move right in front of the finish line, but she caught the tail end of the root and wiped out.
It's tragic the effect that global warming and Blue Knob logging practices are having on our ski team. If only we'd listened to MM last year...
Very funny....but keep in mind that, when I try to move on to a NEW topic, some of you-all drag me back to a couple of old topics. So who's really beating a dead horse? But, nevertheless, BK will always be a hot topic simply because it's located within the Bay watershed and there's no other ski area quite like it within the US.
This is a subject that's been been bugging me since the girl grabbed her board and crashed right up thru the skater fued. Why do they think they're there?
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[rant on -again]
I want our Olympic team to be serious about the sports they participate in; I want them to represent the US in an honorable, sportsmanlike manner. I am thoroughly disappointed in this year's team, not because they win or lose, but in the offhand, arrogant and boorish way they represent our country.
[/rant off]
No rant snowcone, you are right, that's why they're there, competing in the olypmics should be bigger than the x games??....i don't know how to say it but i think you did pretty well.
So in a way, the US Ski team is a lot like Ski Chalet... you expect a lot more but get less than desired...
I never said you were beating a dead horse. I said- to paraphrase- that you found a new horse to beat. So like the Clydesdales of Budweiser, some of us are only too happy to strap all the beaten horses together and give a whistle to the sleigh as it goes merrily down the lane of hilarity. And wow was that a lot of metaphors. I shouldn't quit my dayjob... oh wait, I don't have a dayjob. Egads.
Back on point, you could have just as easily mentioned this out in the other Olympics thread. There was no need to establish a new one, like Andy said.
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....... Or perhaps he's burnt-out on ski racing.
DING DING DING!!!!!!!!!
Let's see, Bode has spent his life trying to become the best skier in the world. He acheived that last year with the World Cup overall, along with winning in all four disciplines within the shortest time frame ever. Along the way he did not miss a single start for two seasons give or take. He's had some wins this year on the World Cup circuit. Who else that's racing right now can say this???
Gosh, do ya think the tank might be getting a little empty?
And looking at the Olympic results, imagine the associated pressures and how good you need to be that when finishing in the top ten is considered a failure. I mean, WTF, I get so sick of this shite. Until you're in their boots and understand their personal drive, who are we to question their performance? Didn't Bode blow out the edge of his ski in the first run of the GS? And Rahlves' DH run was painful to watch, his skiing looked spot on and so smooth, but just no speed coming from the skis, man I felt for him. Lindsay running the DH with a seriously screwed up hip and buttocks, she had every reason to pull out, but didn't, that's what champions are made of!
And damn, MM, your constant glass is half empty outlook sure does kill the stoke around here. Your bitching about dead horse beating really falls on deaf ears.
Don't you feel that their tanks are out of gas??? I mean they are trying, but in ski racing there comes a time when it's very difficult to be at the top every run. Bodie has performed well, but for a few mistakes would have seen the podium in both the combined and the super G. Top ten is still a good finish. Just because we don't get a podium place doesn't mean that our alpine team is bad. The women's finishes are disapointing, but what right do we, as average skiers have to criticize. Unless you have been associated in one way or another with racing and understand the long road and POLITICS of the sport, you need to just chill and enjoy.
That is interesting. Perhaps there should be a team medal in Alpine skiing as well?
I'll just put in my two cents worth .... actually I don't think there is any "real" problem with the US Ski Team, except they don't get money like their European counterparts (and it helps to have that) and have that national culture of ski racing. After all, the more people you pump into a program, the more likely you are to find diamonds in the rough. Park City and Summit County's junior ski programs have under 200 kids *total* !!!! You can bet national junior teams in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and France have a lot more! And look at those countries ... not every racer podiumed from those countries.
And ski racing is hard, hard hard. I never could figure out why one day I could get a Fastest Time of the Day and another day come in 7th. So many little things can make or break you. It's almost like Chaos Theory!
So yeah we didn't exactly rule this year, but hey we did pretty damn good!
And while we are on the subject of Lindsey Kildow's buttocks .... well ummm I just love both of them ;-)!!!
... oh my!!!
The US Ski Team has been on the outs before but it recovered. The story is told in what I think is one of the best books ever written about skiing:
Right On The Edge of Crazy : On Tour with the U.S. Downhill Ski Team (Vintage Departures) (Paperback)
by Mike Wilson
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Ullr, what a pathetic JOKE you are! Rather than engage in a real discussion you reduce yourself to infantile behavior. Since you jumped to the topic of BK, let me ask you this, if the logging has been so good for BK, then why can't the owners find a buyer? According to the Altoona Mirror, BK is still up for sale. And, by the way, you might want to learn how to spell when you grow up (if that should ever happen) "occured" is spelled occurred.
Did Mountain (Environmental Hero) Masher just call me a JOKE?
Now that's funny. Dude, you have brought this on yourself. Lighten up...............
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So in a way, the US Ski team is a lot like Ski Chalet... you expect a lot more but get less than desired...
See Scott has a sense of humor. Ever since the Ski Chalet thread got started, it got me to thinking, just because I had two small problems with one store, it does not mean that I should pass judgement on all stores. Next time I am up in Arlington, I will stop by.
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But Ullr, I hear that actually the ski team was training pretty well, until they started running over all the robins that were picking worms out of the ski trails. Those robins are even redder when they splatter, and man can they leave a gouge in your boards! That snowboarding lady was actually trying to avoid an orchid that was flowering in the middle of the ski trail when she did her little move right in front of the finish line, but she caught the tail end of the root and wiped out.
It's tragic the effect that global warming and Blue Knob logging practices are having on our ski team. If only we'd listened to MM last year...
Now THAT'S funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Crush...I told those people over at Maxim to stop using my body for their body double. And besides if I couldn't be on the cover I had no interest in wearing a black hat. And they airbrushed the tatoo off...WTF?
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Crush...I told those people over at Maxim to stop using my body for their body double. And besides if I couldn't be on the cover I had no interest in wearing a black hat. And they airbrushed the tatoo off...WTF?
whoa, wait wait wait , stop ,HALT , NICHT FORWARD ... ok I need to tell you that you need to contact me ASAP Heather b/c at 5'2"-ish that's like *perfect* 4 me if u doubled for that freakish 5' 10" chick who's buttocks I no longer care for in the least .... OMG it's true ... "I AM THE WEAKEST LINK" ... I am so fickeled I go from buttock to buttock ... I'll just quote Nellie Furtado ....
".... I'm like a bird, I'm gonna fly away ..."
LOL .... and I wanna see that tat' as well ...
As crush drifts off into the snowy horizon I was wondering if any body noticed the snow at Turin. It looked like well ... here... unless there is another surface gleam like it in the entire skiing universe. I'm thinking I'm inspired. We could have held the winter Olympics at say Blue Knob...as for Bode I read an artical where he was ranting about things not being much fun anymore. The fame thing.. So I think he needs to kick the funk and ski. The rest of the world just does what it does.
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unless there is another surface gleam like it in the entire skiing universe.
Ever ski a World Cup race course even months after a race? It makes Blue Knob seem like Alta. 
Though, the coverage of a race course is about the same as Blue Knob if you ask Bode.
World Cup and Olympic race courses are watered down (and maybe even some chemicals added) so that they are almost as hard as hockey rinks. This is done 1) to *try* to make the course the same for the first racer as for the last since softer snow will get deeper ruts from the previous skiers and 2) world-class racers are sick people who need to go as fast as possible and nothing is a fast as ice and 3) they are so big and strong and their skis so stiff that anything less than glare ice would be overpowered by them - they'd get stuck in the snow trying to go fast.
SPOILER ALERT
SPOILER ALERT
If you want a surprise tonight during NBC's sure to be crappy coverage,
DO NOT HIT THIS LINK!!! SPOILER LINK
WOO
HOO
, sorry/thanks, i've got no patience.
